Obtain an EU / Bulgarian Passport through financing, life insurance and property

Bulgaria has one of the most compelling citizenship by investment programs worldwide. Investing EUR 1,024,000 (BGN 2,000,000) in 5-year maturity interest-free government bonds, you and your family can get an EU passport in as little as 18 months.

Let’s dissect the process:

First step – Obtaining an instant permanent residence permit

According to the Foreigners in the Republic of Bulgaria Act, Article 25, par 1, item 6:

A permanent residence permit may be granted to foreigners:

6. who have invested in Bulgaria more than BGN 1,000,000 or increased their investment by such an amount by acquisition of:

a) shares of Bulgarian commercial corporations traded in a regulated Bulgarian market; b) bonds and treasury bills, as well as derivative instruments thereof, issued by the State or the municipalities; c) title to a separate part of the property of a Bulgarian commercial corporation wherein the State or the municipalities hold more than 50 percent of the capital in accordance with the Privatisation and Post-Privatisation Control Act; d) shares in a Bulgarian commercial corporation held by the State or the municipalities in accordance with the Privatisation and Post-Privatisation Control Act; e) Bulgarian intellectual property – objects of copyright and neighboring rights, patent-protected inventions, utility models, trademarks, service marks and industrial design; f) rights under concession contracts within the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria.

Second step – Obtaining fast-track citizenship:

According to the Citizenship Act, Section III: (1) Any person, who is not a Bulgarian citizen and who possesses the qualifications referred to in Items 1 and 3 of Article 12 (1) herein, may acquire Bulgarian citizenship by naturalization if:

1. not less than one year theretofore, he or she had been granted a permanent residence permit for the Republic of Bulgaria in pursuance of Item 6 or 7 of Article 25 (1) of the Foreigners in the Republic of Bulgaria Act and has increased his/her investment in compliance with the same conditions of the law to at least BGN 2 million or has invested not less than BGN 1 million in the capital of a Bulgarian commercial corporation which executes a priority investment project certified according to the procedure established by the Investment Promotion Act.

Timeline

Summary

In summary, you invest €1,024,000 in Bulgarian interest-free government bonds, you obtain your Bulgarian Passport in less than two years and you recover the principal in 5 years.

Although there are other investment options to get Bulgarian citizenship, investing in government bonds is an almost risk-free option. Bulgaria has the lowest debt-to-GDP ratio (26.7%) in the EU after Estonia (9%) and its economy is growing at a yearly 3%, hence it seems that a default is not likely. Also, the Bulgarian Lev (BGN) is pegged to the EUR at a 1.95:1 ratio.

Of course, put €1 million 5 years without accruing interest is painful, but if you are seeking an EU passport, Bulgarian citizenship by investment costs are the lowest.

However, you can also consider investing in shares of a Bulgarian public company or in intellectual property for returns.

What do I get with a Bulgarian Passport?

The Bulgarian passport can be of great value for any non-European citizen, considering the following benefits:

The Bulgarian passport allows visa-free travel or visa on arrival to 154 countries, including the Schengen Area, Turkey, Australia, New Zealand, Southeast Asia, Japan, South Korea, South America, Mexico and the Caribbean, among others.

Acquiring Bulgarian citizenship implies acquiring full EU citizenship, enjoying access to the European market and freedom of movement, and all benefits that it entails.

Bulgaria is qualified to be a member of the Schengen Area.

The right to settle and/or do business in any EU / EEA country or in Switzerland.

The right to buy land in Bulgaria and other EU countries.

Access to the educational system in Bulgaria and other EU member states.

The right to obtain medical care and social benefits in Bulgaria and in the European Union.

No physical residency and language skills requirements.

Although obtaining the Bulgaria residency/citizenship by investment does not imply any tax liability, plant a tax residency flag may be attractive. Consider that both personal and corporate income tax rate is 10%, and dividends and interests are subject to a final 5% and 8% tax, respectively. Furthermore, Bulgaria has concluded about 60 tax treaties.

Bulgaria has amazing mountains, landscapes and natural parks, historical towns, modern cities and nice beaches, where take a dip into the Dead Sea and enjoy its summer high temperatures. Bulgaria is in a two-hour flight from all European cultural and financial centers and the cost of living is cheap, very cheap.

Do not have €1 million available? Flag Theory | Passports.IO can finance your government bond purchase for a €270,000 fee. These have been very popular options because, although there is no capital return, the non-refundable investment is considerably smaller than Malta’s passport program (€650,000) or Cyprus’ program total cash outlay (+€2 million).

Furthermore, we have several other products that will lead you to Bulgarian Citizenship.

Financing

The Bulgarian Citizenship by Investment Program requires an investment of BGN 2,000,000, which is EUR 1,024,000, to start the standard track application procedure. The product all-in handling fee, EUR 270,000, includes the financing of EUR 1,024,000 for a period of five years.

Our product Financing Fast is the most popular product due to several reasons. It is the most affordable EU / Bulgarian fast track product worldwide which allows you to obtain citizenship in 18 months. From a processing point of view, it is the most straight forward product which saves you some time compared to other fast track products.

Financing Standard I

Applicant pays for financing a loan of EUR 512,000.

Time to Permanent Residency – 6 months

Time to Bulgarian Citizenship – 66 months

Investment in EUR (Refundable) – 0

All-in Handling Fee in EUR (Non-refundable) – 185,000

Financing Fast

Applicant pays for financing a loan of EUR 1,024,000.

Time to Permanent Residency – 6 months

Time to Bulgarian Citizenship – 18 months

Investment in EUR (Refundable) – 0

All-in Handling Fee in EUR (Non-refundable) – 270,000

Financing Two Main Applicants

Both partners of a legally married couple can apply simultaneously. Two main applicants pay for financing a total loan of EUR 2,048,000.

Time to Permanent Residency – 6 months

Time to Bulgarian Citizenship – 18 months

Investment in EUR (Refundable) – 0

All-in Handling Fee in EUR (Non-refundable) – 398,000

Property

According to Foreigners in the Republic of Bulgaria Act, Chapter 3, Article 25, one must invest into Bulgarian Stock Exchange Listed Equity, or into Bulgarian Government Bonds to meet the investment requirements of the program. We have created worldwide unique Property products, which have an underlying financing of Equity for our applicants to receive their permanent residency within 6 months and their citizenship in 18, or in 66 months.

About the Property

Our Property is located in Sofia, in the capital of Bulgaria, in the residential area near the main office district. We co-operate with a Bulgarian project manager and work with the biggest and very well-known Bulgarian developer.

Our Property concept is new to Sofia and describes as follows:

Each building has a height of 26 m, has 5 floors and 20 apartments with a ceiling height of 5.35 m;

The apartment size of 129 sqm gross, and 113 sqm net, perfectly meets the requirements of our typical tenants, which are international companies providing accommodation for overseas employees, international students, as well as affluent locals;

The Price per sqm is EUR 1,597 gross, and EUR 1,823 net, which is incredible low for what you get;

But now it comes; each apartment can be divided into two single units / apartments which is approved by the fire brigade. You can choose between keeping the standard apartment size or splitting it into two independent apartments;

The standard apartment looks as follows:

Each apartment has a mezzanine floor stretching over half the ground floor space;

Access to mezzanine floor via stairs;

Two bathrooms per apartment, one on ground floor and one on mezzanine floor;

Elevator and external stairs to each of the internal apartment floors;

In general, you can customize your apartment/s according to your preferences.

Each Property comes with a buy-back guarantee after seven years. In addition, there is a rental guarantee of 5% per year, but note that these returns are used to co-finance the underlying investment into Equity. You will not receive any returns for the first seven years.

Property Standard

Applicant invests in 1 Apartment for EUR 206,000 and holds it for 84 months

Time to Permanent Residency – 6 months

Time to Bulgarian Citizenship – 66 months

Investment in EUR (Refundable) – 206,000

All-in Handling Fee in EUR (Non-refundable) – 88,000

Property Fast

Applicant invests in 2 Apartments for EUR 412,000 and holds them for 84 months.

Time to Permanent Residency – 6 months

Time to Bulgarian Citizenship – 18 months

Investment in EUR (Refundable) – 412,000

All-in Handling Fee in EUR (Non-refundable) – 88,000

Property Fast Two Main Applicants

Both partners of a legally married couple can apply simultaneously. Two main applicants invest in total 3 Apartments for EUR 618,000 and hold them for 84 months.

Time to Permanent Residency – 6 months

Time to Bulgarian Citizenship – 18 months

Investment in EUR (Refundable) – 618,000

All-in Handling Fee in EUR (Non-refundable) – 88,000

Life Insurance

About

Our Life Insurance products are worldwide unique as we offer EU / Bulgarian citizenship via an investment into a fully secured Unit Linked Life Insurance with an underlying investment into Bulgarian Government Bonds. We spent several years to invent these outstanding Life Insurance products together with our Swiss Family Office, partnering with major insurance and insurance brokerage companies.

Vienna Insurance Group – VIG Group is an Austrian Life Insurance company, founded in 1984 with more than 184,000 employees. It is an EU regulated group, with A+ S&P Rating and Stock-market listed, transparent balance sheet and financially stable.

After the minimum holding period of five years, you can surrender your Life Insurance policy in written form. Our Life Insurance company will dissolve your policy and will pay back your investment within 30 days. Of course, you can keep your policy running and can even top it up at any time if preferred.

Cryptocurrency

You can also pay for your Life Insurance investment in any cryptocurrency. Our Life Insurance company allows you to directly pay into their crypto wallet held in a fully licensed bank. Once your premium invoice is settled in crypto, it will be converted in EUR. Note that you can choose to keep some parts of your investment crypto.

Life Insurance Financing Standard

Applicant invests only EUR 375,000 in a Unit Linked Life Insurance with an Insurance Premium of EUR 750,000 and holds it for 5 years. The remaining EUR 375,000 is financed through us.

Time to Permanent Residency – 6 months

Time to Bulgarian Citizenship – 66 months

Investment in EUR (Refundable) – 375,000

All-in Handling Fee in EUR (Non-refundable) – 30,000

At any time, applicant can opt for the fast track (18 months) by investing a further EUR 375,000, making the total investment EUR 750,000. We further finance EUR 375,000, leading to the new Insurance Premium of EUR 1,500,000.

Life Insurance Financing Fast

Applicant invests only EUR 750,000 in a Unit Linked Life Insurance with an Insurance Premium of EUR 1,500,000 and holds it for 5 years. The remaining EUR 750,000 is financed through us.

Time to Permanent Residency – 6 months

Time to Bulgarian Citizenship – 18 months

Investment in EUR (Refundable) – 750,000

All-in Handling Fee in EUR (Non-refundable) – 30,000

Life Insurance Financing Fast Two Main Applicants

Both partners of a legally married couple can apply simultaneously. Two main applicants invest only EUR 1,000,000 in a Unit Linked Life Insurance with an Insurance Premium of EUR 2,000,000 and hold it for 5 years. The remaining EUR 1,000,000 is financed through us.

Time to Permanent Residency – 6 months

Time to Bulgarian Citizenship – 18 months

Investment in EUR (Refundable) – 1,000,000

All-in Handling Fee in EUR (Non-refundable) – 45,000

Life Insurance Fast

Applicant invests a minimum of EUR 1,500,000 in a Unit Linked Life Insurance and holds it for 5 years.

Time to Permanent Residency – 6 months

Time to Bulgarian Citizenship – 18 months

Investment in EUR (Refundable) – 1,500,000

All-in Handling Fee in EUR (Non-refundable) – 30,000

Steps to EU citizenship

The applicant travels to the Bulgarian embassy in the country of residence.

The applicant applies for a Visa D at the Bulgarian embassy. The passport is returned on the same day with a stamp.

After 3 to 4 weeks, the applicant can pick up the Visa D at the embassy.

Using the Visa D, the applicant travels to Bulgaria to apply for permanent residency status, which is completed in 1 day.

After 4 to 6 weeks, the Bulgarian government issues an approval letter, granting permanent residency status.

The applicant has the option to return to Bulgaria to apply for the permanent residency card.